SSC results: Mumbai autorickshaw driver passes Class 10th at 41

Sharif Abdul Samad Khan, a 41-year-old autorickshaw driver and a father of five, overcomes financial obstacles and age to score 61 per cent in SSC examinations

Representational Picture

The Maharashtra SSC results for 2017 are out. And while there are scores of Class 10 students who are celebrating their success, there are some whose triumph make them towering role models for others.

One such example is Sharif Abdul Samad Khan. Sharif, a 41-year-old autorickshaw driver and a father of five overcame financial obstacles and age to score 61 per cent in the SSC examination, according to a report in Indian Express.

And to top it all, Khan's daughter Rukhsar cleared her HSC board exam with 66 per cent this year.

To celebrate the twin successess, the family is planning a small celebration at their 8X12 feet home in a dingy corner of a chawl in Babu Jagjeevan Ram Nagar at Mulund west.

Khan, who has four daughters and a seven-year-old son, is advising everyone he knows to take up education. "I advise everybody to take up education like me. Education is the key to change our lives and end our sufferings," the website quoted him as saying.

Khan, who hails from Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgad district, drives his auto for almost 8-10 hours every day. He would then sit with his daughter Rukhsar, who helped him study for his board exams.

Khan had to give up his dreams of studying and dropped out of school to start earning early in order support his father. "I had to drop out from a BMC school in Mulund in 1991-92, during the riots. Though the riots did not directly affect us, our family income cut down sharply. Since then I took up small jobs to support my father. Later I started driving an auto, married and had kids and there was no looking back," he was quoted as saying.

Asked who motivated him to get back to studeies, he revealed it was his daughters.

“Meri betiyon ne mujhe samjhaya Padhai ki koi seema nahi hoti, koi umra nahi hoti (There is no age limit to take up education). I then submitted my form 17 and enrolled as an external candidate from Vikhroli Rajpal Vidyalaya… I thought it will be difficult for me to clear the exam, forget about scoring first class. After a long day and hard work, it was very tough for me to pick up the books and concentrate. However, my daughters supported me and I managed to do it,” Khan was quoted as saying.

Khan now hopes to study further and says he will enroll as an external candidate for HSC.

Trending Videos

Watch Video: Mystery over model and TV host Sonika Chauhan's death?

Download the new mid-day android app to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go https://goo.gl/8Xlcvr